Kingdom of Magicians

by Timothy L. Cerepaka

  Chapter Fourteen

  It wasn't long before they arrived at The Overflowing Mug again, but this time, the tavern was empty, save for Sherf, who stood behind the bar reading that same book from before. Keo guessed that, because it was after lunch, most of Sherf's customers had gone back to their jobs, wherever those might be.

  But just as Keo, Dlaine, Naye, and Jola entered, Sherf's head snapped up and he looked at Naye instantly. He slammed the book shut and walked around the bar to the rest of the tavern, revealing that Sherf was even heavier and stronger than he had initially appeared, with a stained white apron tied around his waist and an angry and disapproving scowl on his face.

  “Hello, Mr. Sherf,” said Keo as the bartender approached them. He patted Naye on the head. “As you can see, we got your son back safe and sound and—”

  “Naye, what the hell did you think you were doing?” said Sherf, stopping a few feet from them. He folded his arms across his chest. “What have I always told you about making deals with Old Cyclops?”

  Naye looked down at his feet and rubbed his hands together, avoiding his father's gaze. “I—”

  “Naye?” said a familiar feminine voice from the kitchen behind the bar. “Are you back?”

  A woman stepped out from the kitchen, a woman with red streaks in her hair and a brown traveling cloak. She did not have her walking stick, but there was no mistaking the woman for anyone other than who she was. She smiled when she saw Naye. “Naye!”

  “Sadia?” said Keo in surprise, watching as the woman walked over to them quickly. “What are you doing here?”

  “Hmm?” said Sadia, looking at Keo and Dlaine. “Oh, it's you two. I'm Naye's older sister.”

  “You're his older sister?” said Keo. He looked at Sherf in surprise. “So that makes you her father, then?”

  “Of course,” said Sherf. “I guess I didn't tell you that earlier.”

  “Yeah, you didn't,” said Keo. “Why?”

  “Wasn't important,” said Sherf as Sadia stopped next to him. Then Sherf looked at Naye hard again. “You know what I've told you about stealing from people and selling their things to that crazy old man. What do you have to say for yourself?”

  Naye gulped, but still did not look at his father's face. “I … well, I just wanted to help out with the money problems we've been having. That's all.”

  Sherf sighed and rubbed the back of his head. “Naye, listen, I know you want to help and all, but stealing things from people and trying to sell them on the black market isn't helping. You're just making things worse for all of us by risking getting arrested or even killed. I don't want you ever doing this again, all right?”

  “No need to tell me that,” said Naye with a shudder. “I can't do it again, not if I want to live, anyway.”

  Sherf and Sadia exchanged puzzled looks and then Sherf said, “Naye, you don't really think I'm going to kill you if you do that again, do you?”

  “He doesn't,” said Keo, causing Naye, Sherf, and Sadia to look at him. He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “What Naye means is that his deal with Old Cyclops didn't really work out. He stabbed Old Cy in the side with a knife and last we saw the old man was bleeding to death. He might even be dead now for all we know.”

  Sherf's eyes widened. “Hold on. Naye killed Old Cyclops?”

  “He might still be alive,” said Naye, though it was a weak defense. “We didn't actually see him die and his men came to his aid as soon as they saw him, so he might—”

  “Gods, Naye, that doesn't matter,” said Sherf, shaking his head. “Whether Old Cy lives or dies, the fact is that his men won't forget about it. They'll come and kill you and me and Sadia and then burn down the entire tavern to finish it. This is the absolute worst thing that could have come out of this.”

  “I take it that Old Cy isn't exactly forgiving towards his enemies?” said Keo.

  “Of course he isn't,” said Sherf. “He may not look like much, but he's got a mean streak a mile wide. He's been known to kill anyone who slights him and then pretend that he had nothing to do with it, but if he survives this, I doubt he'll even pretend to not be involved with slaughtering us like sheep.”

  “I'm sorry,” said Naye. He gestured at Keo. “I was just trying to save Keo. I didn't mean—”

  “Son, I know that you didn't mean for anything bad to happen, but the fact is that there's no way that this will end well for any of us,” said Sherf. He rubbed sweat off of his forehead with the stained handkerchief in his pocket. “This is going to be really, really bad.”

  “Is there anything we could do to help?” said Keo. “Maybe we could go to the Enforcers and tell them.”

  “Are you kidding me?” said Sherf. “The Enforcers of this town don't care to get involved in these sorts of disputes, which they just see as being a conflict between a bunch of criminals. And even if we did, we'd have to tell them why Naye was even in Old Cyclops's place at all, which probably breaks about a hundred laws all by itself.”

  “Can you fight back, then?” said Keo. “Get some friends to protect the place from Old Cyclops's men?”

  Sherf barked a harsh laugh. “I don't have any 'friends' that would risk their own life for me like that. That's just not how things are done around here, no matter who you are. Around here, you only rely on family or yourself and no one else.”

  Keo looked at Dlaine. “Any ideas?”

  Dlaine shrugged. “Nothing. I don't think there's much we can do to help, unless you really don't want to get to Capitika in any timely manner. If you want to stay and help, you can, but Jola and I are leaving as soon as possible.”

  Keo frowned. He wanted to go to Capitika, get there as quickly as possible, but at the same time he wanted to help Sherf, Naye, and Sadia with their problems here. He didn't like the idea of leaving them alone to defend themselves from Old Cyclops and his men, but neither did Keo like the idea of staying in Torgan any longer than he already had. It seemed like an intractable dilemma to him, one that did not have much of a happy ending for anyone no matter how he looked at it.

  But then Sadia said, “Actually, I think there is a way we could avoid getting slaughtered by Old Cy's men.”

  Sherf looked at Sadia in surprise. “Really? How?”

  “We can leave Torgan,” said Sadia, “and go and join the Rebels in the countryside. It would mean leaving behind The Overflowing Mug and most of our possessions, but I can guarantee you that the Rebels would welcome us with open arms and defend us from anyone that Old Cy might send after us.”

  Sherf's expression changed from hope to despair in an instant. He gestured at the tavern as he said, “But this is my business. I've spent years of my life building this into something great, not just for me, but for you two as well. I can't just abandon it.”

  “The girl has a point,” said Dlaine. “Listen, it's pretty obvious that Old Cy—or his men, if he dies—isn't going to leave you guys alone. And because you can't defend yourselves from him or tell the Enforcers, that means that your only realistic option for survival is to join the Rebels, like Sadia said. And if you really care about your kids' lives, which are far more important than your business, you should listen to her and join the Rebels.”

  Sherf rubbed his handkerchief against his forehead, an agitated look on his face. He looked at his tavern again and then at Naye and Sadia. He was clearly torn about whether to go along with Sadia's suggestion or not, which made Keo feel sorry for him, because, while Keo was not a parent and had never owned a business himself, he understood Sherf's dilemma just the same.

  Finally, Sherf said, “All right. We'll leave within the hour. Naye, Sadia, you two pack up and take whatever you can carry. Sadia, you can lead us to the Rebels' base, all right?”

  “Sure,” said Sadia, nodding. She looked at Keo and Dlaine. “What about you two? Will you join us? The Rebellion could use people like you.”

  “Sorry, but we have our own mission,” said Keo. “We're heading to Capitika, so our next stop is the Silver Fall
s.”

  “The Silver Falls?” Sadia repeated. She suddenly started digging through her coat's pockets. “Hold on. I have something for you guys to deliver there if you wouldn't mind.”

  “What is it?” said Keo.

  Sadia pulled a white envelope from her pocket and held it out for Keo to take. “Deliver this letter to a man who calls himself the Fallsman. He's a friend.”

  Keo took the envelope, which felt light, save for the tiny bump in the center that might have been some kind of ring based on how it felt. He tucked the envelope into his bag and said, “Okay. But where would we find this 'Fallsman,' exactly, once we get there?”

  “Just follow the signs,” said Sadia. “You'll know what they look like when you see them.”

  “But—” said Keo, who wanted more information than that.

  But Sherf waved a hand and said, “Look, I'm thankful that you two saved my son and I would normally give you guys some beer on the house as a reward, but we really don't have time to waste. I said we're leaving within the hour and that's what we're going to do. I suggest that you two do the same.”

  “Brilliant idea, Sherf,” said Dlaine, nodding in agreement. “But next time we see you, we're taking you up on that free beer offer, all right?”

  Sherf nodded. “Of course.”

  “Great,” said Dlaine. He tapped Keo on the shoulder. “Now let's go. No telling how quickly those guys will get here, so we should leave while we can.”

  Keo still wanted to ask Sadia more questions about this 'Fallsman' character, but he realized that everyone needed to leave as soon as they could, so he nodded, albeit reluctantly, and said, “All right. See you guys later. Stay safe.”

  With that, Keo and Dlaine left The Overflowing Mug and made their way back to the main part of Torgan, walking as quickly as they could, keeping their eyes and ears open for any of Old Cyclops's men who might have been following them, though they did not see anything out of the ordinary as they drew closer to the town's marketplace.

  ***